


Carrie White is (not) burning

by dragonpotter



Series: Fictober 2020 [3]
Category: Carrie - Stephen King
Genre: Fictober 2020, Grief/Mourning, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26808586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonpotter/pseuds/dragonpotter
Summary: Fictober 2020 Day 3 - “You did this?”Sue returns to Maine ten years after the Black Prom.
Series: Fictober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946611
Kudos: 12





	Carrie White is (not) burning

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I am basing this mostly off the novel. The coaches name is Rita Desjardin, Sue moves away to a place nobody can know her, and the media sensationalizes Carrie’s death. These are all details that are important to this fic. 
> 
> On with the thing I guess

It had been ten years since the Black Prom. Sue was twenty-seven now, and she was really starting to hate all the strangers who recognized her from the news, who would ask her questions. Stupid things like “Did she always seem unstable?” and “What part did you play in the grand scheme of it all?” and “Do you have any insider knowledge about what happened afterwards?”

When she was seventeen, and still grieving, Sue refused to say anything. During college, she’d try to answer as truthfully as she felt was comfortable, and when asked she’d say, “No, Carrie was shy, but she was still rather sweet.” And “I had no part in that bullshit.” and “It’s not your business.” By the time she had graduated, though, she got tired of it. So Sue moved out of Maine to New York City and planned to never look back.

But plans never work out the way you think they will.

One day, while perusing Time Magazine, she saw an article discussing the anniversary of the Black Prom. And taking up the entire right page was a picture of Carrie’s grave.

It was awful. The graffiti reading “Carrie White burns in Hell for her sins” was still there after all those years, and even more defaming things had been added since then.

**‘ The demon was put back in its place’**

**‘ Jesus never fails’**

**‘You’re rotting away like you deserve for killing our children’**

Sue bought the first available ticket to Portland as soon as she could.

* * *

After the two hour drive to Chamberlain, Sue tried to take in her surroundings, but just couldn’t believe that the town she had grew up in could be in the state it was. It felt...dead, for a lack of a better word. Nobody ever went out and about, all the old stores and restaurants had either closed down or severely altered their hours, and whenever you did see a human being, they looked tired. Many of the buildings that had burned down hadn’t ever been rebuilt, making the whole town seem even more old and dilapidated than it did when Sue was in high school.

The afternoon she returned, Sue went to the drugstore and bought a rag, a bottle of water, and a spray bottle. Then she went straight to the cemetery. She didn’t care if she needed permission from the city. She was going to clean Carrie up a little.

Sue sat down in front of her grave, staring at the vandalized tombstone for several moments. Then she began to spray the water. Then she scrubbed the tombstone. Hard. The ink from every single message had long since dried, so it took nearly two hours to get rid of them all.

Then Sue kept scrubbing. To make the tombstone sparkle. So Carrie could be as sparkling and beat as she was before the pig’s blood was dropped on her.

When she was done, Sue picked a nearby lily and placed it at the foot of the newly shining grave.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Ms. Snell,”

Sue turned around to see someone she hadn’t seen or even thought of in years. Ms. Desjardin.

“It’s nice to see you, though.” the ex-coach continued.

“You as well,” Sue replied. “What are you doing here? I haven’t seen anyone outside since I’ve come back.”

“I like to visit her sometimes. It’s a shame the state her grave is in now. Nobody ever wants to fix it, and I’ve never had the time. What are you doing back in Chamberlain?”

“To remember,” Sue said. “And to honor Carrie’s memory. I’m sure you saw that awful picture in Time. I couldn’t stand it, so I came back to clean this place up a little. To try to make up for what happened.”

Ms. Desjardin looked at the tombstone. “You did this?” Sue nodded. “It looks nice.” she said after a moment.“I haven’t seen it untouched since she was buried.”

Then she began to cry.

“She was a good kid,” Ms. Desjardin said. “I still miss her.”

Sue finally could no longer hold her own tears back. Quietly, she replied, “Me too,”

**Author's Note:**

> Say it with me: Carrie is not a villain, she was a tortured kid that deserved better.


End file.
